goPost ADA (508/WCAG Compliance Checklist)
This checklist is based on the WCAG 2.0 requirements. The checklist below, a series of tables, is based on the content of the Web page/Site. If ‘No’ is answered to any item, then the site is not 508 compliant. General and Keyboard Navigation checks should be performed on all pages no matter what is present in the actual content.
HTML 508 Checklist
Section A: General Visual Checks | ||
Requirements | Traceability back to 508 | Result |
---|---|---|
Is the site free from content that flashes more than 3 times per second? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 2.3.1 | Y |
Can all text be resized up to 200% without degrading quality/understandability? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.4.4 | Y |
Is there more than one way to locate a web page? (Site Search, Site Map, etc.) | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 2.4.5 | N - Need Site Map |
Is the order of navigational elements consistent across the site? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 3.2.3 | Y |
Can auto updating, moving, blinking, and scrolling content be paused or adjusted? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 2.2.2 | Y |
Are all site controlled documents (PDF, Word, etc) fully accessible or have a conforming alternate version? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.3.1 | N |
If there are any time limits on interacting with content, can they be turned off, adjusted, or extended? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 2.2.1 | Y |
Are operational instructions that rely on sensory characteristics avoided? (Ex. Click the square, blue button to continue) | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.3.3 | Y |
Is the site free from pages that re-direct after a timeout? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 2.2.1 | Y |
Are elements with the same functionality consistently identified across pages? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 3.2.4 | Y |
Do headings accurately describe the content they visually define? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 2.4.6 | Y |
Section B: General Code Inspection | ||
Requirements | Traceability back to 508 | Result |
Is the default language of the page set? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 3.1.1 | Y |
Has the language been properly set for foreign words or phrases? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 3.1.2 | N |
Is the page free from major errors defined in W3 Failure #70 when run against an HTML validator? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 4.1.1 | Y |
Are duplicate ID values on the same page avoided? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 4.1.1 | Y |
With styles disabled, is the reading order of the content logical? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.3.2 | N |
Do all frames have a title attribute that accurately defines the content? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 4.1.2 | Y |
Does the page have a title attribute that accurately defines the content? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 2.4.2 | Y |
Does content intended to be accessible by assistive technology refrain from using display:none or aria-hidden=true? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.3.1 | Y |
If ARIA is present, does the ARIA coding both meet ARIA specifications and give an accurate representation of the content? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 4.1.2 | Y |
Are Fieldset tags only used for form fields? (Not to make a box around a piece of content)? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.3.1 | Y |
Section C: Keyboard Navigation | ||
Requirements | Traceability back to 508 | Result |
Are all elements that can be operated by a mouse also able to be operated by keyboard? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 2.1.1 | Y - all but "Settings" and "Help Tools" can be navigated via keyboard |
When tabbing through the page, do all elements have a clear visual indication that they have focus? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 2.4.7 | N - Not all elements in left panel are highlighted |
When tabbing the page, are keyboard traps avoided? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 2.1.2 | Y |
Is the tab order of the page logical? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 2.4.3 | Y |
When tabbing through the page, are changes of context avoided when an element receives focus? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 3.2.1 | Y |
Is there a method to bypass blocks of repetitive content (such as navigation)? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 2.4.1 | Y |
Section D: Sites containing Color | ||
Requirements | Traceability back to 508 | Result |
Is information conveyed by methods other than color alone? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.4.1 | Y |
Does all text (with the exception of logos) have a contrast ratio of 4.5:1 or greater no matter the font size? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.4.3 | Y |
Section E: Sites containing Links | ||
Requirements | Traceability to 508 | Result |
Are links distinguished by a method other than color? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.4.1 | Y |
Can all link text be understood out of context? If not, does generic link have sufficient content? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 2.4.4 , | Y |
Do linked images either have an empty alt tag and link text, or no link text and appropriate alt text? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.1.1 | Y |
Section F: Sites containing Images | ||
Requirements | Traceability to 508 | Result |
Do all images have an alt attribute? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.1.1 | Y |
Do all images conveying information have alt text that provides the same level of understanding a visual user would gain? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.1.1 | Y |
Do all decorative images have an empty alt tag (alt=””) or are included via the CSS? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.1.1 | Y |
Is the CSS free from any images conveying information that do not have a text alternative? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.1.1 | Y |
Do complex images have an alternate accessible means of understanding? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.1.1 | Y |
Is the page free from images of text? (Picture of an informational table, screenshot of text from another source, etc) | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.4.5 | Y |
Section G: Sites containing Audio/Video | ||
Requirements | Traceability to 508 | Result |
Do all audio only or video only (video without any sound) files have an accurate transcript? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.2.1 | N/A |
Do all videos have accurate and synchronized captions? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.2.2 | N/A |
Are there any informational parts of the video that require audio description to be understood by users with limited sight and if so, is a second version with audio description available | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.2.5 | N/A |
Is there a way to turn off sound that automatically plays for more than 3 seconds? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.4.2 | N/A |
Section H: Sites containing Tables | ||
Requirements | Traceability to 508 | Result |
If layout tables are used, is data table markup (Summary, TH, ID, Headers) avoided? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.3.1 | N |
If layout tables are used, is the intended order of the content intact? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.3.2 | Y |
Are data tables implemented with data table coding? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.3.1 | Y |
Do all header cells utilize the TH tag? Do all data cells utilize the TD tag? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.3.1 | Y |
Do all Header cells contain text? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.3.1 | Y |
Do data tables with 1 set of both column and row headers appropriately use scope to associate to data cells? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.3.1 | Y |
Do data tables with more than 1 set of column and/or row headers appropriately use id/headers to associate to data cells? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.3.1 | Y |
Section i: Sites containing semantic structure | ||
Requirements | Traceability to 508 | Result |
Are all visual bulleted and numbered lists correctly coded with HTML list tags? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.3.1 | Y |
Are visual headings correctly coded with HTML heading tags? (<h1>, <h2>, etc) | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.3.1 | Y |
Do heading tags follow a logical hierarchical progression? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.3.1 | Y |
Are heading tags only used on text that defines a section of content? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.3.1 | Y |
Is emphasized or special text correctly coded with HTML heading tags? (<em>, <strong>, <sup>, etc) | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.3.1 | Y |
Section J: Sites containing Forms | ||
Requirements | Traceability to 508 | Result |
Are all form fields correctly coded with descriptive and accurate labels? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 3.3.2 | Y |
Do grouped form fields have correctly coded fieldset and legend tags? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.3.1 | Y |
Are form validation errors clear and accurately identified in text? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 3.3.1 | Y |
Is the form free of making a selection when attempting to navigate the options? (only submits when user makes a selection) | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 3.2.2 | Y |
Are Orphan label tags avoided? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.3.1 | Y |
Section K: Sites containing common elements/dynamic content | ||
Requirements | Traceability to 508 | Result |
Is the role of an element (eg Button) properly defined , accurate, and communicated to assistive technology? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 4.1.2 | N |
Is the state of an element (expanded or collapsed) properly defined , accurate, and communicated to assistive technology? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 4.1.2 | Y |
Are modal dialogues able to be used with keyboard alone and assistive technology? Focus management, hiding underlying content, etc. | Multiple WCAG 2.0 Criterion | Y |
Are carousels able to be used with keyboard alone and assistive technology? Ability to pause, navigate to individual items, etc. | Multiple WCAG 2.0 Criterion | N/A |
Are menus able to be used with keyboard alone and assistive technology? Ability to expand and navigate subitems | Multiple WCAG 2.0 Criterion | Y |
Are expandable/collapsible accordian elements able to be used with keyboard alone and assistive technology? Ability to expand and navigate subitems | Multiple WCAG 2.0 Criterion | Y |
Are Tabbed Interfaces able to be used with keyboard alone and assistive technology? Ability to tell active tab and navigate to appropriate content | Multiple WCAG 2.0 Criterion | Y |
Are CAPTCHA interfaces able to be used with keyboard alone and assistive technology? Ability to tell the clue and successfully enter and authenticate | Multiple WCAG 2.0 Criterion | N/A |
If a user selection creates an unexpected change on the page, was the change communicated to the user? | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 3.2.2 | N |
Related articles